Below you will find answers to some frequently asked questions (FAQs),
which are organized under the following headings:
CIPF provides limited protection for property held by a member firm on behalf of an eligible client, if the member firm becomes insolvent. CIPF member firms are members of the New Self-Regulatory Organization of Canada (New SRO) that are: (i) investment dealers and/or (ii) mutual fund dealers that are not located exclusively in Québec. Please click here for a list of CIPF Investment Dealer member firms and here for a list of CIPF Mutual Fund Dealer member firms.
If you have an account with a member firm, and that firm becomes insolvent, CIPF works to ensure that any property being held for you by the firm at that time is given back to you, within certain limits. Client property that is eligible for CIPF protection includes securities and cash, but excludes crypto assets. In certain circumstances, CIPF's role may involve requesting the appointment of a trustee in bankruptcy.
CIPF protection is not available to customers for mutual fund dealer accounts located in Québec. A mutual fund dealer account is considered to be located in Québec for the purposes of CIPF coverage if the office serving the customer is located in Québec.
However, CIPF does not guarantee the value of your property. Find out more about what CIPF does and does not cover here.
If you have an eligible account with a member firm that is used solely for investing in securities or in futures contracts, you’re automatically eligible for coverage. And because CIPF is funded by its member firms, you do not pay a fee for CIPF protection.
CIPF protection is not available to customers for mutual fund dealer accounts located in Québec. A mutual fund dealer account is considered to be located in Québec for the purposes of CIPF coverage if the office serving the customer is located in Québec.
Please note that crypto assets held by a member firm on behalf of a client are not eligible for CIPF coverage.
Yes, non-residents and non-citizens are eligible for coverage. CIPF protection does not depend upon the residency or citizenship of the customer.
No, your protection is not shared. If you have accounts at different member firms, you have separate CIPF protection for the property being held on your behalf by each firm.
No, CIPF’s protection is not the same as CDIC’s (Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation).
Yes. If the member firm becomes insolvent, CIPF’s role is to ensure that cash balances, securities and other property the firm is holding for its clients are returned to them, within certain limits. However, crypto assets held by a member firm on behalf of a client are not eligible for CIPF coverage. CIPF also does not guarantee the value of the securities.
Yes. If the member firm becomes insolvent, CIPF’s role is to ensure that cash balances, securities and other property the firm is holding for its clients are returned to them, within certain limits. However, CIPF does not guarantee the value of the securities. Any claim to CIPF for missing property that is denominated in a foreign currency would be converted into Canadian funds, using the exchange rate in effect on the date of the member firm’s insolvency.
Crypto assets held by a member firm on behalf of a client are not eligible for CIPF coverage.
CIPF protection is also not available to customers for mutual fund dealer accounts located in Québec. A mutual fund dealer account is considered to be located in Québec for the purposes of CIPF coverage if the office serving the customer is located in Québec.
No, CIPF does not protect the value of your GICs. If you have an account with a CIPF member firm, and the CIPF member firm becomes insolvent, CIPF works to ensure that any property (including GICs) being held for you by the firm at that time is given back to you, within certain limits. CIPF does not guarantee what the GIC will be worth.
We are often asked about insurance offered by the CDIC (Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation) on these types of investments. CIPF is not related to the CDIC. For more information about the CDIC, and whether your investment qualifies for CDIC deposit insurance, contact the CDIC at 1 (800) 461-2342 or refer to their website at www.cdic.ca. Please note that CIPF member firms are not the same as CDIC member institutions.
No. CIPF does not protect you from a drop in the value of investments for any reason.
No, CIPF cannot help you to recover losses arising from misleading information or investments in entities that become insolvent.
CIPF’s mandate is limited to ensuring that property held in your account with a member firm at the time of insolvency is returned to you, within certain limits. If you had 100 shares in your account at the time of your broker’s insolvency, and the 100 shares were returned to you but lost some or all of their value, that loss of value is not covered by CIPF.
Other types of losses not covered by CIPF include those resulting from the following:
Find out more about what CIPF does and does not cover here.
Yes, if the ETF securities are held by a member firm on behalf of an eligible client, the client’s ETF securities are protected by CIPF.
Investing in an ETF gives an investor “units” or “shares” in the fund. If the member firm holding your ETF units or shares becomes insolvent, CIPF’s role is to ensure that the ETF units or shares being held by the member firm for you are returned to you, within certain limits. However, CIPF does not guarantee or protect the value of your ETF investment.
Please see the glossary on this website for more information about exchange-traded funds.
Yes, if the mutual fund securities are held by a member firm on behalf of an eligible client, the client’s mutual fund securities are protected by CIPF.
Investing in a mutual fund gives an investor “units” or “shares” in the fund. If the member firm holding your mutual fund units or shares becomes insolvent, CIPF’s role is to ensure that the units or shares being held by the member firm for you are returned to you, within certain limits. However, CIPF does not guarantee or protect the value of your mutual fund investment.
CIPF protection is also not available to customers for mutual fund dealer accounts located in Québec. A mutual fund dealer account is considered to be located in Québec for the purposes of CIPF coverage if the office serving the customer is located in Québec.
Since investors can purchase mutual fund securities directly from the mutual fund itself, these securities may be held by the mutual fund for the investor. In this situation, where a CIPF member firm is not holding these securities on behalf of a client, CIPF coverage does not apply.
Please see the glossary on this website for more information about mutual funds.
Your fully paid securities that are lent under the CIPF member firm’s fully paid lending program are not eligible for CIPF coverage. However, any fully paid securities not lent and held at the member firm, as at the date of insolvency of the member firm, are eligible for CIPF coverage. Find out more about what CIPF does and does not cover here.
For an individual holding an account or accounts with a member firm, the limits on CIPF protection are generally as follows:
See What are the Coverage Limits? and the CIPF Coverage Policy for more information.
If you have a joint account, unless otherwise evidenced in writing, your proportionate interest in the account will be presumed to be equal to that of the other person or people with an interest in the account. You would have CIPF protection for your proportionate interest in the joint account up to the limit that applies to all of your general accounts combined. The limit of coverage on all of your general accounts combined is $1 million.
Some member firms purchase private coverage to provide their clients with protection over and above protection provided by CIPF. It does not impact eligibility for CIPF coverage. Consult your account representative at your member firm for more information about any additional coverage your account may have.
Yes. All of your registered retirement accounts at the same firm are combined for purposes of determining the limit of CIPF coverage. The limit of protection for property in these accounts is $1 million.
Assuming that you and your spouse qualify for coverage, and these accounts are held with a member firm that has become insolvent:
Yes, but the amount of your claim for any missing cash, securities or other property held in your account at the date of insolvency would be reduced by the amount of the cash, securities or other property you owe to the member firm.
Yes. A TFSA is eligible for CIPF protection. It is considered a general investment account for CIPF coverage purposes. The limit of coverage on all of your general accounts combined is $1 million.
CIPF member firms are members of the New Self-Regulatory Organization of Canada (New SRO) that are: (i) investment dealers and/or (ii) mutual fund dealers that are not located exclusively in Québec. Please click here for a list of CIPF Investment Dealer member firms and here for a list of CIPF Mutual Fund Dealer member firms.
CIPF protection is not available to customers for mutual fund dealer accounts located in Québec. A mutual fund dealer account is considered to be located in Québec for the purposes of CIPF coverage if the office serving the customer is located in Québec.
Member firms sometimes market themselves under names other than their legal entity name, which is why you may not recognize them on the list. If the legal entity name of your investment dealer or mutual fund dealer is not on your statement, please check with your account representative at the firm. If you are unable to access the list of member firms on the CIPF website, please call CIPF at (416) 866-8366 or toll free at 1 (866) 243-6981.
Not necessarily. Accounts with entities other than a member firm, including a member firm’s affiliates, are not covered by CIPF unless the affiliate itself is also a member of CIPF.
No, CIPF does not cover losses arising from the insolvency of your portfolio manager. You should contact the securities regulator in the province or territory in which your portfolio manager is located.
In your case, the investment dealer has an arrangement to provide custody and trading services to your portfolio manager and its clients. Although you are a client of both the portfolio manager and the investment dealer, CIPF coverage applies only if the investment dealer becomes insolvent, not the portfolio manager.
You should contact the trustee in bankruptcy or other insolvency official who has been appointed by a court to administer the insolvent firm. A trustee in bankruptcy is a person or corporation licensed by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada to administer bankruptcy proceedings. More information relating to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada can be obtained on the Government of Canada website at www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/bsf-osb.nsf/eng/home. In most cases, the court will appoint an insolvency official to administer the affairs of an insolvent member firm.
If your member firm is insolvent and you don’t know who the insolvency official is, you may contact the New Self-Regulatory Organization of Canada, which is the organization that regulates investment dealers and mutual fund dealers in Canada.
CIPF protection is not available to customers for mutual fund dealer accounts located in Québec. A mutual fund dealer account is considered to be located in Québec for the purposes of CIPF coverage if the office serving the customer is located in Québec. Please contact Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).
The appointment may be done at the request of the insolvent firm itself, certain creditors of the insolvent firm, or others. In certain circumstances, the appointment can be made at the request of CIPF. Depending on the circumstances of the insolvency, an insolvency official may be a trustee in bankruptcy, a receiver, a liquidator, a monitor, or other court-appointed official.
CIPF provides limited protection for property held by a member firm on behalf of an eligible client, if the member firm becomes insolvent. If you have an account with a member firm, and that firm becomes insolvent, CIPF works to ensure that any property being held for you by the firm at that time is returned to you, within certain limits. Client property that is eligible for CIPF protection includes securities and cash, but excludes crypto assets. CIPF also does not guarantee the value of your property. Find out more about what CIPF does and does not cover here.
CIPF protection is also not available to customers for mutual fund dealer accounts located in Québec. A mutual fund dealer account is considered to be located in Québec for the purposes of CIPF coverage if the office serving the customer is located in Québec.
CIPF’s role may include, in certain circumstances, requesting the appointment of a trustee in bankruptcy.
When an insolvency of a member firm occurs, CIPF works with the trustee in bankruptcy (if one is appointed) to return any property that was being held for clients by the member firm at the date of its insolvency as quickly as possible. Since the insolvent firm can no longer carry on the function of holding property for its clients, it is generally necessary to transfer this function to another firm. As a result, client accounts may be moved to another member firm so that clients can access their accounts.
If a trustee in bankruptcy is appointed by a court, this trustee will typically be responsible for transferring client accounts to a new solvent firm. If an insolvency official other than a trustee in bankruptcy is appointed by a court, this official will often be given the responsibility of transferring client accounts to another solvent firm.
CIPF protection will apply if the property being held on a client’s behalf is not available to be returned to the client. Certain limitations apply. Please see What Does CIPF Cover? for more information on what is covered and not covered.
CIPF protection is also not available to customers for mutual fund dealer accounts located in Québec. A mutual fund dealer account is considered to be located in Québec for the purposes of CIPF coverage if the office serving the customer is located in Québec. Please contact Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).
Not necessarily. It is possible that those securities will not be available to be returned to you if the member firm becomes insolvent. The particular circumstances of insolvencies can vary widely. For example, one of the laws that may apply to an insolvency of an investment dealer or a mutual fund dealer in Canada is Part XII of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada). If Part XII applies, all client cash and securities held by the insolvent firm for its clients at the time of bankruptcy, other than customer name securities (registered in the customer’s name), would be included in a single customer pool”. Any “shortfall” of client cash or securities would be allocated proportionately from the customer pool across all clients after payment of bankruptcy administration costs.
CIPF protection will apply if the property being held on a client’s behalf is not available to be returned to the client. Certain limitations apply. Please see What Does CIPF Cover? for more information on what is covered and not covered.
The information required to make a claim to CIPF is available from the CIPF website, or upon request to CIPF.
You must submit a proof of claim to CIPF within 180 days of the date of insolvency along with all documents and information to support the claim. If a trustee in bankruptcy is appointed by a court to manage the affairs of the member firm where you have an account, you may submit your claim form along with the supporting documentation to the trustee in bankruptcy, instead of CIPF. If no trustee in bankruptcy is appointed, the claim can generally be made directly to CIPF.
For more information, please refer to the CIPF Claims Procedures.
Your first course of action should be to contact your firm’s compliance department. If they cannot resolve the issue, contact the New Self-Regulatory Organization of Canada (New SRO), who is the national self-regulatory organization that regulates investment dealers and mutual fund dealers in Canada. CIPF is not a regulator and has no authority to investigate or regulate its member firms. If your matter relates to an investment dealer firm, you can contact the IIROC division of the New SRO at 1-877-442-4322 or [email protected].
If your matter relates to a mutual fund dealer firm, you can contact the MFDA division of the New SRO at 1-888-466-6332 or [email protected]. If you are not sure, you can contact either IIROC or MFDA division and they will ensure your complaint is directed to the right place.
You may also consider contacting the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (also known as OBSI) for assistance at (416) 287-2877 or 1 (888) 451-4519, or [email protected].
Member firms shall be required to comply with all provisions of the [new] CIPF Disclosure Policy no later than December 31, 2024 (other than firms granted membership on or after January 1, 2023, who shall be required to comply with all provisions of this Policy upon the earlier of the date such membership is granted and June 30, 2023).
Until then, CIPF member firms must continue to comply with the disclosure requirements that were applicable to the CIPF member firm immediately prior to January 1, 2023 namely, the CIPF Disclosure Policy, effective February 10, 2021, or MFDA Rule 5.3.2(e) and MSN-0083. All references in a CIPF’s member firm’s disclosure, website and documentation to a predecessor of the former CIPF will be deemed to be a reference to the CIPF.
For FAQs on the CIPF Disclosure Policy, effective January 1, 2023, please click here.
For FAQs on the Former CIPF Disclosure Policy, effective February 10, 2021, please click here.